By DJ Bean | Comments Off on Reports: Ference fined $2,500 for gesture

According to multiple reports, Bruins defenseman Andrew Ference has been fined $2,500 by the NHL for making an obscene gesture following his second-period goal in Thursday night’s OT win over the Canadiens.

No penalty was assessed at the time, and Ference denied making the gesture when asked by reporters after the game.

‘Coach just showed me it, and it looks awful,’ Ference said . ‘I just saw it and I can assure you that’s not part of my repertoire. I don’t know if my glove got caught up. I can assure you, that’s not part of who I am or what I ever have been. So it looks awful, I admit it, I completely apologize to how it looks. You guys have covered me long enough to know that that’s not part of my repertoire.

‘I was putting my fist in the air,’ Ference added. ‘I’m sorry, it does look awful. I just saw it.’

MONTREAL — The Bruins grabbed a gutsy win Thursday, sinking the Canadiens, 5-4, in overtime and tying the Eastern Conference quarterfinals at two games apiece. Michael Ryder, who had three points on the night, scored the game-winner 1:59 into OT.

The Habs jumped out to a 1-0 lead 8:13 into the first period on a shot from Brent Sopel. With just over eight minutes of scoreless play, Game 4 had the most scoreless time of any so far in the series. Ryder would tie the game in the second period, though goals from Michael Cammalleri and Andrei Kostitsyn made it a 3-1 game. The B’s were able to battle back in that same period, getting goals from Andrew Ference and Patrice Bergeron to tie it at three at the end of two.

With Patrice Bergeron in the penalty box for hooking, Habs rookie defenseman P.K Subban scored to make it 4-3 early in the third. Once again, the Habs’ lead would not stick, as the Bruins would tie it on a Chris Kelly goal at 13:42 of the third, setting the stage for Ryder’s overtime heroics.

Tim Thomas made 32 saves in regulation, while Carey Price made 30 in the first three periods. The Bruins and Habs will play Game 5 at TD Garden on Saturday.

WHAT WENT RIGHT FOR THE BRUINS

‘¢Michael Ryder scoring after taking a pass from Tomas Kaberle? Ryder later setting up a critical goal? That’s something the Bruins had been waiting to see. While it’s been a while since either of those two have proven capable of playing to their potential (in Kaberle’s case, the argument could be made that he hasn’t proven it since joining the B’s) the thought of some of their ‘money’ players stepping up their play is something the B’s would welcome.

‘¢It was almost unbelievable the two teams were tied after Ryder’s goal, as the B’s were being handled by the Habs. Being able to tie it once may have given them a dose of resiliency, as they were able to battle through and later make up a two-goal deficit. Kelly’s goal gave tied it once again, proving that the team is capable of playing well from behind, an area that plagued them in Games 1 and 2.

‘¢The Brad Marchand – Bergeron – Mark Recchi line continues to be the lone Boston trio with a consistent pulse. Bergeron has two goals in four games, while a lucky bounce helped give Marchand an assist on the Ference goal.

WHAT WENT WRONG FOR THE BRUINS

‘¢Going down a man just 32 seconds into the third period of a tied playoff game isn’t what a team is looking for, and when Subban scored on the power play with Bergeron in the box on a questionable hooking call. It was the Bruins’ only penalty of the game, but it was very costly.

‘¢Terrible sportsmanship on the part of Ference after his goal. Cameras caught him giving the middle finger to Habs fans after beating Price to make it 3-2. For a series with as much chirping and after-the-whistle activity, Ference would have aplenty opportunity to do that stuff to the guys on the ice. Ference is one of the better people in the game, so there’s no doubt he would like to have those few seconds back.

‘¢Milan Lucic needs to make a difference in this series, and it turns out his lack of presence has made a big difference. The underperforming winger was the B’s best scorer in the postseason, and his quiet playoffs continued Thursday. He did have a nice pass to set up David Krejci all alone in front of Price, but the center wasn’t able to finish.

Join WEEI.com’s D.J. Bean (and friends) as they help you follow all the action from the Bell Centre in Montreal, with the Bruins looking to even up their best-of-seven series with the Canadiens as the teams head into Game 4 …

Brad Marchand made his 20th goal of the season count, as he broke a late tie to give the Bruins a 2-1 lead over the Flyers in Philadelphia Sunday night. With the win, Boston clinches a playoff spot.

Marchand’s tally was his first in 13 games, as he banged home a rebound past Flyers netminder Brian Boucher on the power play at 16:17 of the third period. Both Bruins’ goals came on the man advantage, as Nathan Horton scored his 23rd goal of the season with the B’s on the power play in the second period. Kris Versteeg opened the game’s scoring with a tally for the Flyers in the first period.

Picking up the victory for the Bruins was Tim Thomas, who won his third game in a row and improved his record on the season to 32-10-8.

Talk about the Bruins with WEEI.com Bruins beat writer DJ Bean. Topics sure to be hit on include Thursday’s tilt with the Canadiens and the Bruins’ accusations that Montreal embellished Max Pacioretty’s injury.